NEW ORLEANS - Tulane baseball fell to Notre Dame on Sunday, 8-3, at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium despite a big day at the plate from senior Garrett Cannizaro.

Cannizaro hit Tulane's first home run of the season in the fifth inning, scoring both he and junior Andrew Garner - who collected two hits of his own on the afternoon. Cannizaro added singles in both the first and third innings, going 3-for-4 for the day with two RBIs.

However, Tulane (3-4) pitching gave up 14 hits to Notre Dame (5-1) on the day. After a solid performance last Sunday against Missouri State, junior starter Kyle McKenzie (1-1) gave up seven of the aforementioned hits in only 3.1 innings. Junior Brady Wilson also pitched 3.1 innings, giving up five hits. The remaining two hits were against freshman Ian Gibaut. Wilson recorded four strikeouts, while Gibaut recorded two.

Freshman Emerson Gibbs made his collegiate debut in the ninth, allowing no hits and striking out two.

"We got behind early," said Tulane baseball head coach Rick Jones. "I thought Brady Wilson pitched well, I thought Ian Gibaut pitched well, and Emerson Gibbs in his first inning was really impressive. Notre Dame just whipped us today. They are a good club. They had pitching out of the bullpen, and they swung the bats well. Kyle didn't have a good day on the mound, and we've pitched well in every game so far this year, that's our first time that we've given up those hits, but that's going to happen sometimes."

McKenzie got into trouble right out of the gate, walking the leadoff hitter Frank DeSico. He stole second, and then advanced to third on a single by Ryan Bull. A sacrifice fly by Eric Jagielo scored DeSico before Trey Mancini reached base on a single. A double steal by Bull and Mancini put them both in scoring position, with Bull coming around to score on another sacrifice fly, giving Notre Dame an early lead of 2-0.

The Greenies chiseled away at the lead in the bottom of the first when senior Sean Potkay doubled, and then scored on a single by Garner.

However, that was as close as the Green Wave got on the afternoon.

Notre Dame added two runs in the top of the fourth after McKenzie allowed three consecutive baserunners. While Charlie Markson was thrown out at second base on a steal attempt, Zak Kutsulis scored on a double by Mac Hudgins that also moved Lane Richards to third base. Richards subsequently scored on the third sacrifice fly of the game for the Fighting Irish, putting Notre Dame up, 4-1.

For the second straight inning, Tulane allowed three consecutive base runners - all singles. Bull scored his second run of the game on a passed ball to go up 5-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, Garner singled and was later brought home on the blast by Cannizaro, bringing Tulane's deficit to only two runs.
"Really, I wasn't looking for the fastball inside," said Cannizaro. "I was anticipating it, and just trying to pick it up as early as I could, and I was able to do that today."
Notre Dame's Bull - who went 4-for-5 on the afternoon - matched Cannizaro's shot to left field with solo home run of his own. Notre Dame put another run on the board later in the inning when Markson scored after stealing third base and coming home on a throwing error.

Hudgins scored the final run on the afternoon in the eighth on a RBI single by Bull.

"We get healthy, this is a really good club, and it'll show," added Jones. "But we just have to get healthy and stay healthy."

Tulane will head to Thibodaux, La., on Tuesday for a match against in-state rival Nicholls State, slated to begin at 6:30pm CST. The Greenies will then return home to face UNO on Wednesday at 3pm CST. Both games can be heard on 106.1 FM The Score.

You can follow Green Wave baseball on Twitter (@GreenWaveBSB) or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GreenWaveBaseball.

The mission of the Tulane University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is to support the university's purpose of enriching the capacity to think, learn, act, and lead with integrity and wisdom. This is ensured by providing our student-athletes and staff with opportunities for competitive success and personal growth within the context of sportsmanship, teamwork, and integrity.